


Let My Rose Be Your Sword

by SunsetNCamden



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Needs Love, Deal With It, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Frozer Trailer, Kagadrien, Kagami is cool, No Sex, Spoilers for Frozer, Spoilers for Riposte, Spoilers for Season 2, Well lovers in the sense that they're only 14 years old, adrigami
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-07-18 21:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16127396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunsetNCamden/pseuds/SunsetNCamden
Summary: My take on the Adrien/Kagami locker room scene from the “Frozer” trailer.Adrien sighs as he looks longingly at the rose in his hand, wishing he had someone to give it to. “Even though I’m glad to be her friend, it still hurts, you know? She told me that she likes someone else. I just wish...I wish I could be him. That whatever she sees in him, I could be that.”“Hey,” Kagami brings her hand to his cheek and turns his head to face her. He sees kind, honest eyes. “You are the first friend I made in Paris. And, I’m honored to be your friend. I’d be honored to be more than your friend.”





	Let My Rose Be Your Sword

**Author's Note:**

> I did a bad thing...oops? I wrote another fanfic even though I have three that are waiting completion. Sorry? My hand slipped. I just had to write it, you guys. The muse spoke, ya know? I mean, did you see the trailer? Only read this if you saw the trailer and you don’t mind spoilers/potential spoilers. 
> 
> I’ve always had a little soft spot for the Riposte episode and by extension Kagami, because in that episode Riposte tries to stab Ladybug, and Adrien (i.e. untransformed Chat) pushes her out of the way and saves her. And you know what my brain said when it saw that? It said, “Huh? What would have happened if Riposte had stabbed Adrien instead?” And from that one little scene two separate fanfics were born. So, yeah, I like Kagami. I didn’t necessarily like her with Adrien, but I like her. Then, I saw the Frozer trailer and ya know what? I ship it. I totally ship Adrigami...uh...Kagadrien...whatever, I ship them. Anyone who wants to love Adrien or Chat or better yet both, I support them, whoever they are - male, female, fluid, transitioning, genderless, alien, furry, kwami. I don’t care! The boy needs love. So, if Marinette can’t get her courage up to confess and Ladybug can’t see beyond her nose, then I’ll take anyone else who has the courage and the kindness to love him. (Unredeemed Chloe need not apply.) Ok, rant over. Please enjoy my first one-shot. Thanks!

_Worthless! Stupid! You’re awful! Absolutely AWFUL! All those hours of practicing...Imagine if Father saw you! Imagine if Ladybug saw you! No wonder she doesn’t love you! Honestly, who could?_

The blonde shakes his head as he escapes the courtyard, pushing into the boys’ locker room without really knowing where he’s going. He leans on the door as it closes behind him, feeling grateful to be alone, so that no one will see his shame. He lifts off his visor, exposing his wet cheeks to the humming fluorescent lights above him. With one hand now freed from the protective glove he wipes away his tears. Heavy feet propel him slowly towards his locker. He sets down his visor and gloves on the bench before turning the dial of the lock. It takes two times for him to get the combination right, so that the lock finally opens. Grumbles of frustration escape his lips as his eyes focus on his kwami sitting on top of his messenger bag. A wedge of camembert in his hand, Plagg stops mid chew.

“What’s wrong with you? Someone eat your last slice of cheese?” the little demi-god snarks.

“Not now,” Adrien mutters as he grabs his bag, dislodging Plagg from his resting place.

“What was that?”

Adrien freezes. The question came from _behind_ him. He wonders if he’s caught. If whoever the speaker is, saw Plagg and has guessed at his superhero identity. He takes a breath, plasters an innocent, smiling face on, and turns to meet his interrogator.

“What was what?”

“You know exactly what!” Kagami exclaims with hands on her hips. “You let Jean Claude beat you!”

Adrien breathes a sigh of relief. She meant his poor performance from a moment ago and not the small, black, cat-like creature hiding in his locker under his discarded school clothes.

“You shouldn’t be here. This is the _boys’_ changing room,” he tries to deflect.

Kagami says nothing, her steely gaze never leaving him.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he shrugs, averting his eyes, because he actually does know what the champion fencer meant. “Jean Claude beat me fair and square.”

“Exactly,” she crosses her arms in front of her. “And when was the last time Jean Claude beat you?”

“Never,” he admits softly. Jean Claude is definitely the weakest fencer on their team. Everyone knows it, even Jean Claude. He had only just barely made the team this year. “But…”

“No, no buts. You practically handed the win to him. Adrien, you _dropped_ your saber!”

Tears begin to prick in Adrien’s eyes again as shame swells in his heart. He can hear his father’s discouring, critical words in his ears.

_Agretes are winners, Adrien! You don’t deserve to have the Agreste name. You’re no son of mine!_

“What’s wrong?” Kagami asks, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. Adrien looks up in surprise. He didn’t expect that question. He expected a sharp tongue lashing, reprimanding him on his poor performance. He should know better. That’s what his father would do, not his friends, not Kagami. He can see the concern and compassion in her eyes. It still surprises him.

“You’ll probably feel better if you talk about it,” she encourages, sitting on the bench and patting the spot beside her. “You usually do.”

The two had several heart to heart talks over the last two months since Kagami started attending his school. They have a lot in common besides fencing. Both come from prominent, affluent families that expect perfection from their offspring. The pressure to always be the best taxes both of them and they had found some solace in talking to each other about it.

Kagami had slowly, reluctantly allowed the walls that contained her frustration to come down around Adrien. In the safety of their private talks she would rant and rail against the demands of her mother. In response, Adrien would crack jokes and the two would soon enough be in stitches, the laughter providing a much needed release to the tension. The French boy’s silly puns would distract the Japanese girl long enough for her to calm down to face her troubles with a clear head.

Adrien, on the other hand, usually shuts down when stressed. Everything would seem to go wrong, making his mood spiral deeper, darker. Only when pressed would he talk about it and then a kind word or two from his friend would get him smiling again.

Now alone together in the boys’ locker room Adrien accepts her silent invitation and sits down on the bench with a huff, letting his bag drop on the floor with a plunk. Something red dislodges from the front pocket, landing with a soft thud.

“Is it your father, again?” Kagami prods as she bends down to pick up the fallen object. It would take some questions on her part to get him talking. Out of the corner of her eye she can see Adrien shake his head no. When she realizes what she is holding, a small smile pulls at the corner of her mouth. “I see. Someone else occupying your thoughts?” she hums. “Who’s the rose from?”

“Not from anyone,” Adrien replies miserably.

“Oh...who’s it _for_ , then?” she asks with more care. “Marinette?”

Adrien shakes his head again. “Marinette’s just a friend.”

“Who, then?”

“Doesn’t matter,” he whispers. “She doesn’t want it. Not from me.”

“I’m sorry,” she replies lamely. Kagami doesn’t have any experience with love, too busy with fencing and her studies. She’s pretty sure her parents would never let her date; not that there is anyone interested in her, anyway. And, besides, she’s not interested in anyone, well at least not much, not enough to draw her focus from what’s important. Or, at least that’s what she tries to tell herself. She feels his fingers brush against hers as he takes the rose from her, and her heart skips a beat. The typically calm and collected competitor losing her cool for a moment.

She clears her throat and then asks, “You confessed? She rejected you?”

Adrien nods again. “She just wants to be friends. It’s okay. I mean, I still want to be friends with her. It’s just…”

“You wish for more?”

“No...well, yes, obviously, but I was thinking...you know, there’s the dance that’s coming up, but…”

“But?”

“I want to ask her to go with me, but I don’t know, if I do, then I’m afraid it might ruin things.” Adrien had fantasized about coming to Ladybug as Chat Noir, red rose in hand, de-transforming in front of her and then asking her to the dance. He couldn’t take her as Chat, because Chat had no affiliation with the school, but he could take her as Adrien. But, to do so, he would have to tell her who he really is behind the mask and he knows with every fiber in his being that his akuma-fighting partner does not want to know. She would be mad that he had broken his promise to keep his superhero identity a secret. He would be risking their partnership and their friendship. And yet, he so desperately wants to take her to the dance, and more importantly for her to know him, all of him. Maybe, he hopes, maybe it would make a difference.

“She might get the wrong idea?” Kagami asks. “That you don’t respect her feelings?”

“Yeah, something like that.” Close enough he figures. Not like he could tell Kagami the whole truth.

“You could tell her that you’d just be going as friends…”

“It’s no good. In my heart I know it wouldn’t be true. It’s a bad idea.”

“Maybe so…”

Adrien sighs as he looks longingly at the rose in his hand, wishing he had someone to give it to. “Even though I’m glad to be her friend, it still hurts, you know? She told me that she likes someone else. I just wish...I wish I could be him. That whatever she sees in him, I could be that.”

“Hey,” Kagami brings her hand to his cheek and turns his head to face her. He sees kind, honest eyes. “You know you’re great, don’t you? I mean it. You’re the best. And if this girl can’t see it, then it’s her loss.”

He smiles weakly. “You’re just saying that because you’re my friend.”

“Exactly,” she agrees with a smile. “I’m your friend. I know you. I know you have a big heart, infinite patience, and uncommon kindness. You see the best in people even when they don’t show it.” Kagami brushes his cheek with her thumb, a fond expression of her feelings for him, but realizing the intimacy of the gesture, she pulls her hand away quickly, letting it fall to her lap.

When they first met, Kagami had burst through the doors of the courtyard, rudely interrupting the fencing try-outs to call out the team’s best fencer for a duel. Adrien had accepted the challenge and after he bested her, she had left feeling discouraged and disheartened, even going so far as to discard her saber. Yet, he had chased after her, determined to talk to her, to make sure she was okay, and to assure her that although he had been declared the victor, he himself wasn’t so sure. He had returned her saber to her and even offered her a rematch. They had become friends that day.

“You are the first friend I made in Paris,” she smiles as she stares at her hands in her lap. “And, I’m honored to be your friend. I’d be honoured to be more than your friend.” She bites her tongue to keep herself from saying more. She could pour her heart out to him, unburden all those thoughts she only allows herself to think as she drifts to sleep. But, no. She has no time for matters of the heart. She barely has time for friends. Only Adrien’s persistence in being her friend brought her here today.

After she joined the school’s fencing team, her mother came to her first practice, mainly to ensure that their coach, M. D’Argencourt, was a worthy teacher. All had gone well until she had been partnered with another boy and they had squared off against each other. The female fencer, new to both the team and the school, had taken it easy against her sparring partner in an effort to show a sense of friendliness and team comradery. Although she had still easily won, Kagami had refrained from ratcheting up the points against her opponent. Afterwards, her mother had chewed her out in front of her teammates and coach for what she considered a bad showing. Friends didn’t matter, her mother had chatised her in their native tongue, winning mattered. In her mother’s eyes Kagami had not won despite the score. She had lost -- lost face, lost honor.

At the next practice the champion fencer had not made the same mistake. She took her mother’s words to heart and had brutally bested every opponent, wounding egos along the way. Her mother had been satisfied, her coach ecstatic, but her teammates now hated her.

The next day at lunch Adrien sought her out. With his lunch tray in hand, he sat down at her empty table.

“I know it’s not easy being the new kid at school,” he began. “I started here just a few months ago myself. But, it gets easier. You’ll make friends in no time.”

“I don’t have time to make friends,” Kagami had replied, not looking up from her packed lunch.

Her curt reply made Adrien pause for a moment, but then he continued. “We’ve got a two hour lunch. That should be plenty of time. Afterall, it only took us a few minutes to become friends. At that rate, think how many friends you’ll have at the end of two hours.”

Kagami looked up with surprise. Did he really consider her a friend?

“Allow me to introduce you to some really great people,” Adrien offered.

“I suppose I am indebted to you for interceding on my behalf with M. D’Argencourt and obtaining a spot on the team for me despite losing to you. So, it would be dishonorable to deny your request.” She began to pack up her lunch.

“You won that spot yourself,” Adrien corrected, rising from his seat and picking up his tray. “M. D’Argencourt is thrilled to have you on the team even if he won’t admit it. All I did was smooth things over with him. And besides, we still don’t know who won that match. That’s why I had to get you on the team. How else am I going to learn all your tricks and tells? I’m going to soundly defeat you next time.”

“You feel you have to stoop to subterfuge to beat me?” she asked as she followed him across the cafeteria.

“I follow the rules to the letter, but I’m not above using privileged information to win. And, it is a privilege to fight against someone so skilled,” he grinned. “Now, it is my privilege to introduce my new friend, Kagami,” Adrien gestured to her before naming his friends gathered around their usual lunch table.

Kagami had felt only slightly nervous then to meet Adrien’s friends. She feels exceptionally nervous now waiting for him to make some kind of response to her slip of the tongue. How could she say something so revealing? Her words ring in her ears.

_“I’d be honoured to be more than your friend.”_

They echo through Adrien’s brain as well. He looks at her with new eyes. He’s reminded of the first time he saw her. Right after their match, she took off her visor, her short raven tresses swaying from their confinement. Time seemed to slow as he realized that the tenacious, talented, passionate, and athletic opponent that he had just faced, and as far as he could tell, had beaten him, turned out to be a girl, no a _beautiful_ girl. Maybe _the_ girl. Maybe he had finally found her! He had been determined to know her. He had to find out her name. He had to talk to her, so he had followed her. When he finally came face to face with her, he realized that she was not Ladybug, as he had supposed, and yet he was not disappointed. She is Kagami. Abrupt and stern, but also thoughtful. He admires her determination and recognizes her loneliness. But, now he sees her kindness. He sees how she’s trying to cheer him up even at the cost of showing vulnerability. A good fighter hides their weaknesses, since it can be used against them. But, she’s not hiding. He sees her.

_“I’d be honoured to be more than your friend.”_

He can feel warmth spread across his chest, up his neck, and over his cheeks. He looks down at his hands, perhaps out of embarrassment, and sees the rose he still holds. Adrien knows now who it’s meant for. He slowly raises the rose toward her, offering it to her as he offers his heart.

“Thank you, Kagami,” he whispers.

She looks up, finding the rose in front of her. It trembles in his hand. She looks at him. His face bright, eyes shining, as a smile stretches across his lips.

“ _It’s like looking at the sun_ ,” she thinks.

She takes the rose. Her fingers brushing his once again and she feels the same stutter in her heartbeat, exhilarating and frightening. She brings the flower to her nose. The sweet fragrance grounding her in the moment.

“Would you...would you go to the dance with me?” Adrien asks. “I know I’d have fun if we went together.”

“You wouldn’t be disappointed?” Kagami asks, uncertain.

“I’d only be disappointed if you said ‘no’.”

“My parents aren’t very supportive of social activities.” She twists the rose between her fingers nervously. What would her mother say?

“Neither is my father, but...we can work on convincing them together,” Adrien offers.

Kagami laughs. “What did you have in mind?”

“We can protest! I’ll make the signs; you come up with the chants.”

“We could go on a hunger strike, too,” she teases in return. She likes that he brings out her playful side. She feels lighter around him. It feels good to laugh and joke. No one in her family laughs or jokes.

“Do you think they’d buy the argument that dancing is like fencing? I mean, they’re two people moving back and forth. One leads, the other follows. It’s kind of like striking and countering.”

“I think my mother would prefer if _I_ lead.”

“I’m okay with that. You should tell her that I’m an excellent dancer. I took classes. Waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, tango...I can do them all.”

“Classes aren’t good enough for my mother.” Kagami states with a smirk. She picks up his gloves lying on the bench beside her. “Ever compete? Hold any titles?”

“No, afraid not.” Adrien shakes his head, as he takes the gloves from her, putting them on, one by one. “Let’s talk about wardrobe. My father will want to know who you’ll be wearing.”

“ _Gabriel_ , obviously,” she replies referring to his father’s clothing line.

“Good choice.” He stands and picks up his bag from the ground.

“Is there any other choice?”

“No,” Adrien laughs. He throws his messenger bag back in the locker and slams the door shut, securing the lock with a flick of his wrist.

“I thought not.” She hands him his visor. “Ready? You’re going to have to trounce your next opponent if you have any hope of securing my mother’s approval. She’s out there watching, you know.”

Adrien gulps. “She must think very badly of me. Oh! She’s going to be angry at you for leaving practice to come in here.”

“That’s okay,” Kagami replies with a wave of her hand. “She’s always angry about something. You’re worth a reprimand.”

Adrien feels that warmth spread over him again. “I’m honoured to be your friend, Kagami, and...I’d be honoured to be more than your friend.”

She steps closer and with sure hands she takes the visor from him, allowing her to close the gap between their two bodies. He leans down slowly toward her, his eyes fixed on her pink lips, but before he can reach his target to his surprise his forward momentum is stymied. With a thump, Kagami pushes his visor back onto his head, imprisoning his lips behind a screen.

“Stay focused!” she commands. “You’ve been distracted enough today. Go out there, impress my mother, secure our date. Then, you can show me _exactly_ how honoured you are.” To emphasize her instructions, she hits the top of his helmet with the palm of one hand. Dazed, he totters on his heels before raising his visor only to find that she is already at the door.

“You coming?” she calls, the red rose caught between her teeth. “I hear a tango playing!”

“You lead; I’ll follow,” he calls as he jogs after her. He can hear her laughter fill the outside hall. It sounds like music.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much to MJ for beta reading and also for the title suggestion! It's so helpful to have someone give you feedback as well as fanfic suggestions to read. :)  
> To my 16 User Subscribers: I swear I'm working on The Limited Partnership Agreement. It's just taking longer than I'd like. I have one chapter completed, but I'm holding onto it because I want to finish the whole thing to make sure the set up actually comes to fruition. So, please bear with me. As soon as TLPA is done I will switch over to An Engaging Series. I have the next two parts partially written. Then, I'll get back to They Kids Need Therapy, which is approaching its 1 year anniversary. None of these are abandoned. I just need time to think and, well, to write. Thanks for your patience and your support. It really helps to keep me motivated.  
> Kudos and comment if you enjoyed. Find me on Tumblr as SunsetNCamden if you'd like to message me. Cheers!


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